Post by Rockies GM (Alex) on Jan 14, 2014 14:19:56 GMT -5
2014 American League Central Division Preview
1. Minnesota Twins
2013 Record: 12-7
The Minnesota Twins repeated as division champs in the worst division in the league that hosted three of six worst teams last season. Still, the Twins themselves were quite formidable at 7th (5,816.2 PTS) in the league power rankings in 2013. With a little cap room to do work, the team looks very similar to the squad that walked off the field in a disappointing playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The offense performed very well with a terrific season from Michael Cuddyer (498 PTS). Joe Mauer (385.5 PTS) and Pablo Sandoval (395.5 PTS) were both key contributorsin the lineup. Mauer will make the move to first base this season, opening up a spot for 2012 first round draft pick Mike Zunino (97.5 PTS) to fill his role. Zunino hit well in the minors and could very well be the next Mauer-like hitter behind the plate. On the mound, the Twins rely on Anibal Sanchez (489.4 PTS) and Derek Holland (479.2) as their one-two punch. Both were among the league's best, Sanchez and Holland ranked 20th and 24th in points scored among starting pitchers respectively. Yovani Gallardo (401.7 PTS) will also look to bounce back after a slightly down season, Miguel Gonzalez (383.2 PTS) continues to impress, and Scott Kazmir's (366.8 PTS) rebirth has brought depth to the rotation. The bullpen is not very good after the Joel Hanrahan trade blew up in the Twins faces last season. With Grant Balfour (354.1 PTS) playing well, Jose Veras (259.1 PTS) was signed in the off-season to try to bring some more stability. A solid rotation and offense should give the Twins the edge over the Royals in the early goings of the season, but an injury here or there or any surprises from K.C. could spell a second place finish for Minnesota.
Grade: B+
2. Kansas City Royals
2013 Record: 10-9
If there was one team that deserved to play post-season baseball that didn't, it was the Kansas City Royals of 2013. The team put up a terrific numbers (5,658.8 PTS) that were good enough for 8th on the power rankings. Unfortunately, a big part of last year's squad, ace Adam Wainwright (625 PTS), signed with division rival Detroit over the off-season leaving a huge hole in the rotation. The Royals, however, dealt for a new leader of the rotation in Justin Verlander (512.8 PTS). Behind Verlander, the Royals have Bronson Arroyo (441 PTS), who has performed with consistency over the course of his career. After these two, many question marks fill up the rest of the rotation. Brandon Beachy and Chad Billingsly both spent much of their 2013 seasons on the disabled list, but have been stellar options in the past. Brandon McCarthy (233.3 PTS) can do well when in the right situations. In the bullpen, Greg Holland (461.2 PTS) was the 4th best reliever in baseball last season. Kelvin Herrera (223.5 PTS) was also solid in his role as the set-up man. On the offensive end, the team has quite the superstar in Andrew McCutchen (637.5 PTS) patrolling the outfield. The Royals hope that Jose Reyes (335.5 PTS) can bounce back after what was a subpar year for the shortstop. While Reyes has struggled, Brandon Phillips (465 PTS), continues to hit well after getting his new contract last season. The question with this team offensively will be Brandon Moss's (463 PTS) ability to fill the void left by the departure of Joey Votto (603 PTS) at first base. The Royals lost two major pieces this off-season, but did well to replace them. Can they finally beat out Minnesota for the division's top spot? In a tough American League, the division crown may be the only chance.
Grade: B+
3. Detroit Tigers
2013 Record: 2-17
Let's just say 2013 never happened for Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago, eh? The three teams combined for a whopping 5-52 on the season. The Tigers pulled off a fire sale midway during the season, sending away a lot of contributors at the MLB level for younger talent. However, the Tigers have seemingly reloaded a bit with a very active free agency. In their most major signing, the team took Adam Wainwright (625 PTS) away from rival Kansas City by paying him a large amount of money for the 2014 season. A.J. Burnett (448.7 PTS) continues to be solid even in the later stages of his career. After Jonathan Sanchez's complete disappearance, the team has to look to younger talent in order to get production from its staff. One key component this season could be the young Zack Wheeler (238 PTS). After being called up late in the season, he was terrific on the mound. Aside from slugger Hunter pence (625.5 PTS), the offense is very young and inexperienced. Jurickson Profar (166.5 PTS) will look to live up to the hype after getting his first taste of the majors last season. Other young starters like Lorenzo Cain (279 PTS), Mike Moustakas (281.5 PTS), and Brandon Belt (461.5 PTS) all have the potential to be top level talent. The team also brought in Stephen Drew (384 PTS) through free agency to take over at shortstop this season. In the bullpen, Jim Johnson (400.3 PTS) was 9th in the league at his position in points scored. He has shown in the past that he can be even more dominant in the late innings of games. The playoffs won't happen for Detroit, but neither will they win only two games again. This team won't be an easy win like last season.
Grade: C+
4. Cleveland Indians
2013 Record: 1-18
As the lowest scoring team in the American League, the Indians are fortunate to have won a game last season (a victory against the rival Tigers on Week 19 of the season) to avoid the record books. And although I said the same about them last season, this team does look more formidable as the framework continues to be built for a winning ball club in the future. Four big acquisitions for the lineup should have this team winning more than once in 2014. First, the team traded for second baseman Ian Kinsler (480.5 PTS) and immediately signed him to a long term deal to keep him in Cleveland. Second, the team acquired both catcher Matt Wieters (419 PTS) and outfielder Adam Jones (610 PTS) from Baltimore in one deal. Finally, the team acquired shortstop Erick Aybar (383.5 PTS) from Toronto. Pair these players with the youthful outfield combo of Eric Young Jr. (427 PTS) and Giancarlo Stanton (399 PTS) and the makings of a pretty prolific offense is starting to take form. The rotation should be next on the list of things to improve for Cleveland. Tommy Milone (361.5 PTS) was the only name worth mentioning on a terrible rotation last season. The team, however, does have a solid trio of relievers in the bullpen to help make up for the lack of firepower in the rotation: David Robertson (332.8 PTS), Mark Melancon (360.6 PTS), and Matt Belisle (228.5 PTS). The Indians are a gradually improving team, perhaps only a step behind Detroit because of their lack of pitching.
Grade: C
5. Chicago White Sox
2013 Record: 2-17
When looking at the White Sox roster, it's hard to imagine that this team won two games last season. However, take a look at two things. 1. Both of those wins were against divisional opponent the Cleveland Indians. 2. The team no longer has LaTroy Hawkins (274.4 PTS) or Rajai Davis (329.5 PTS) (two of their most prominent scorers last season). It is quite clear that the White Sox have the most depleted roster in the league going into this season. And outside of signing outfielder Marlon Byrd (469 PTS) this off-season, the team did nothing to show that they have the intentions of being a winning ball club anytime soon. Part of the problem is the team has a lot of financial tie ups with the releases of Ryan Howard (25m), Barry Zito (18m), and Quintin Berry (7.5m) this season and beyond. Two possible pieces this team does have outside of Byrd for trade bait during the season could be reliever Huston Street (304.2 PTS) and utility man Kelly Johnson (283.5 PTS). Both players could bring in young talent that could either help now or in the future. However, it's going to be a season for the White Sox to hunker down and take the losses. There are many interesting talents in their minor league systems to get excited about, but there should be no reason to rush them along when the rest of the team is in shambles. My prediction: the White Sox will pick first in the 2015 Amateur Draft.
Grade: D-
Final 2013 AL Central Predictions:
1. Twins
2. Royals
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. White Sox
1. Minnesota Twins
2013 Record: 12-7
The Minnesota Twins repeated as division champs in the worst division in the league that hosted three of six worst teams last season. Still, the Twins themselves were quite formidable at 7th (5,816.2 PTS) in the league power rankings in 2013. With a little cap room to do work, the team looks very similar to the squad that walked off the field in a disappointing playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The offense performed very well with a terrific season from Michael Cuddyer (498 PTS). Joe Mauer (385.5 PTS) and Pablo Sandoval (395.5 PTS) were both key contributorsin the lineup. Mauer will make the move to first base this season, opening up a spot for 2012 first round draft pick Mike Zunino (97.5 PTS) to fill his role. Zunino hit well in the minors and could very well be the next Mauer-like hitter behind the plate. On the mound, the Twins rely on Anibal Sanchez (489.4 PTS) and Derek Holland (479.2) as their one-two punch. Both were among the league's best, Sanchez and Holland ranked 20th and 24th in points scored among starting pitchers respectively. Yovani Gallardo (401.7 PTS) will also look to bounce back after a slightly down season, Miguel Gonzalez (383.2 PTS) continues to impress, and Scott Kazmir's (366.8 PTS) rebirth has brought depth to the rotation. The bullpen is not very good after the Joel Hanrahan trade blew up in the Twins faces last season. With Grant Balfour (354.1 PTS) playing well, Jose Veras (259.1 PTS) was signed in the off-season to try to bring some more stability. A solid rotation and offense should give the Twins the edge over the Royals in the early goings of the season, but an injury here or there or any surprises from K.C. could spell a second place finish for Minnesota.
Grade: B+
2. Kansas City Royals
2013 Record: 10-9
If there was one team that deserved to play post-season baseball that didn't, it was the Kansas City Royals of 2013. The team put up a terrific numbers (5,658.8 PTS) that were good enough for 8th on the power rankings. Unfortunately, a big part of last year's squad, ace Adam Wainwright (625 PTS), signed with division rival Detroit over the off-season leaving a huge hole in the rotation. The Royals, however, dealt for a new leader of the rotation in Justin Verlander (512.8 PTS). Behind Verlander, the Royals have Bronson Arroyo (441 PTS), who has performed with consistency over the course of his career. After these two, many question marks fill up the rest of the rotation. Brandon Beachy and Chad Billingsly both spent much of their 2013 seasons on the disabled list, but have been stellar options in the past. Brandon McCarthy (233.3 PTS) can do well when in the right situations. In the bullpen, Greg Holland (461.2 PTS) was the 4th best reliever in baseball last season. Kelvin Herrera (223.5 PTS) was also solid in his role as the set-up man. On the offensive end, the team has quite the superstar in Andrew McCutchen (637.5 PTS) patrolling the outfield. The Royals hope that Jose Reyes (335.5 PTS) can bounce back after what was a subpar year for the shortstop. While Reyes has struggled, Brandon Phillips (465 PTS), continues to hit well after getting his new contract last season. The question with this team offensively will be Brandon Moss's (463 PTS) ability to fill the void left by the departure of Joey Votto (603 PTS) at first base. The Royals lost two major pieces this off-season, but did well to replace them. Can they finally beat out Minnesota for the division's top spot? In a tough American League, the division crown may be the only chance.
Grade: B+
3. Detroit Tigers
2013 Record: 2-17
Let's just say 2013 never happened for Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago, eh? The three teams combined for a whopping 5-52 on the season. The Tigers pulled off a fire sale midway during the season, sending away a lot of contributors at the MLB level for younger talent. However, the Tigers have seemingly reloaded a bit with a very active free agency. In their most major signing, the team took Adam Wainwright (625 PTS) away from rival Kansas City by paying him a large amount of money for the 2014 season. A.J. Burnett (448.7 PTS) continues to be solid even in the later stages of his career. After Jonathan Sanchez's complete disappearance, the team has to look to younger talent in order to get production from its staff. One key component this season could be the young Zack Wheeler (238 PTS). After being called up late in the season, he was terrific on the mound. Aside from slugger Hunter pence (625.5 PTS), the offense is very young and inexperienced. Jurickson Profar (166.5 PTS) will look to live up to the hype after getting his first taste of the majors last season. Other young starters like Lorenzo Cain (279 PTS), Mike Moustakas (281.5 PTS), and Brandon Belt (461.5 PTS) all have the potential to be top level talent. The team also brought in Stephen Drew (384 PTS) through free agency to take over at shortstop this season. In the bullpen, Jim Johnson (400.3 PTS) was 9th in the league at his position in points scored. He has shown in the past that he can be even more dominant in the late innings of games. The playoffs won't happen for Detroit, but neither will they win only two games again. This team won't be an easy win like last season.
Grade: C+
4. Cleveland Indians
2013 Record: 1-18
As the lowest scoring team in the American League, the Indians are fortunate to have won a game last season (a victory against the rival Tigers on Week 19 of the season) to avoid the record books. And although I said the same about them last season, this team does look more formidable as the framework continues to be built for a winning ball club in the future. Four big acquisitions for the lineup should have this team winning more than once in 2014. First, the team traded for second baseman Ian Kinsler (480.5 PTS) and immediately signed him to a long term deal to keep him in Cleveland. Second, the team acquired both catcher Matt Wieters (419 PTS) and outfielder Adam Jones (610 PTS) from Baltimore in one deal. Finally, the team acquired shortstop Erick Aybar (383.5 PTS) from Toronto. Pair these players with the youthful outfield combo of Eric Young Jr. (427 PTS) and Giancarlo Stanton (399 PTS) and the makings of a pretty prolific offense is starting to take form. The rotation should be next on the list of things to improve for Cleveland. Tommy Milone (361.5 PTS) was the only name worth mentioning on a terrible rotation last season. The team, however, does have a solid trio of relievers in the bullpen to help make up for the lack of firepower in the rotation: David Robertson (332.8 PTS), Mark Melancon (360.6 PTS), and Matt Belisle (228.5 PTS). The Indians are a gradually improving team, perhaps only a step behind Detroit because of their lack of pitching.
Grade: C
5. Chicago White Sox
2013 Record: 2-17
When looking at the White Sox roster, it's hard to imagine that this team won two games last season. However, take a look at two things. 1. Both of those wins were against divisional opponent the Cleveland Indians. 2. The team no longer has LaTroy Hawkins (274.4 PTS) or Rajai Davis (329.5 PTS) (two of their most prominent scorers last season). It is quite clear that the White Sox have the most depleted roster in the league going into this season. And outside of signing outfielder Marlon Byrd (469 PTS) this off-season, the team did nothing to show that they have the intentions of being a winning ball club anytime soon. Part of the problem is the team has a lot of financial tie ups with the releases of Ryan Howard (25m), Barry Zito (18m), and Quintin Berry (7.5m) this season and beyond. Two possible pieces this team does have outside of Byrd for trade bait during the season could be reliever Huston Street (304.2 PTS) and utility man Kelly Johnson (283.5 PTS). Both players could bring in young talent that could either help now or in the future. However, it's going to be a season for the White Sox to hunker down and take the losses. There are many interesting talents in their minor league systems to get excited about, but there should be no reason to rush them along when the rest of the team is in shambles. My prediction: the White Sox will pick first in the 2015 Amateur Draft.
Grade: D-
Final 2013 AL Central Predictions:
1. Twins
2. Royals
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. White Sox